Wildlife photography is a genre of photography practiced initially by only a selected few, but it is now appreciated by a large number of photography enthusiasts, who are practicing it as a serious hobby or budding a career around it. Taking photographs of animals can be as difficult as trying to catch a cheetah. Animals are difficult to have in a static position except they are resting or sleeping, so this aspect demands much patience just to catch the perfect moment worthy of artistic appreciation.
Sometimes, some distractive measures are taken to get the animals attention. Some toy apps such as Human-Cat Translator and Dog squeaky Toy are now available for free on the internet which all works to get the animal to your desired position. However, even with that, it can be difficult to balance using your phone and the camera at the same time.
When you invest a little time looking into pictures uploaded on social media sites like Facebook and Flickr and some online photography forums, it is not surprising to see that many photographs of animals do not really speak to its viewers because they lack expressions. This is because most of the photographs are taken casually on photographic trips with the wrong belief that much justice was rendered and the perfect caption was achieved.
As a wildlife photographer, always endeavor to seize every opportunity to capture that rare image that attracts global appreciation. Below are some easy-to-apply guidelines for improving your wildlife photography.
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#1: Have a good grasp of your subject
Before you venture into taking photographs of animals, you need to understand some essential behavioral attributes of the animal of interest as this will ease you of so much time wastage and poor photo quality. The truth is every animal species have some ingrained characters that are unpredictable so the responsibility lies with you to spare some time to study these animals. A lot of patience is required to have much knowledge about the habit and way of life of your animals of interest. This is needed to capture that “golden moment”. Don’t just lose it and change your subject of interest.
#2: Study your Camera settings
Desired moments in animal photography do not persist for a long period of time; sometimes it lasts for just some few seconds. So you need to understand and know your gear for quick and effective use. Know your minimum shutter speed which produces a very sharp image quality. Also, know how to quickly alternate focus points; how high you can leave your ISO settings to still achieve a sharp image quality; know the margin that the added in-lens stabilization allows. In cases where you desire a blurred background, know and set your camera to aperture priority mode and your lens to the widest aperture. In cases of animals in motion, take up your shutter speed and see its result. Increase the speed to improve result and set it to continuous focus. You should also get some photo enhancer and photo editing software. You will need them. Make them part of your trusted gears.
#3: Lighting is important
Beautiful wildlife photographs are usually achieved when the camera is well-lit. This factor is very important, so as a photographer ensure you are exposed to adequate lighting. A typical camera has an automatic way of adjusting its shutter speed to create good lighting. But, this usually does not capture the right moment and position desired of the subject animal because most times they move within capture time. I will advise utilizing the golden light which means taking advantage of the morning and afternoon sunlight before it goes down.
#4: Capture closely and widely
Wildlife photography usually attempts to isolate a target animal and capture a moment of it, so the need to get close as much as possible to the animals. But, the result does seem like a captured animal in a controlled location because its natural environment is left out of the caption. Sometimes better things that add more meaning are happening outside the frame. For an expressive wildlife photograph, you may need to shoot from a wider angle to show a little detail of the immediate environment of the animal. Get a wide-angle lens with a polarized filter to cover different species of animals, ranging from small squirrels to the giant elephants living naturally in their habitat. A good example of a camera for shooting widely is the Nikon D800 coupled with three Nikkor gold band “pro” lenses and an SB- 900 flash- this equipment has high accuracy and it is very simple to use.
#5: Try different angles
You will be limiting your potential of getting astounding photographs of your subject animal by taking numerous shots from just an angle of view. Always try different positions like getting down to the animal’s level especially when dealing with a small animal like a squirrel or a rabbit. Dwelling on the top view may limit your chance of a beautiful caption.
#6: Turn off the flash
Many animals are very sensitive to light and it scares them away. So study your subject’s reaction to flash light. With subjects sensitive to light, avoid the use of cameras with built-in flash as light is directed into their eyes scaring them away and giving them a horrible look when captured. In an enclosed dark place with ceiling, point your Speedlight up at the ceiling to light up the environment giving it a natural feel. Flash photography can give an ugly look as shadows are most times cast around the subject making it look horrible.
#7: Patience is required
The first stage required for wildlife photography is a period of deep and keen study of the subject having a good grasp of their behavioral pattern. This period requires much patience as it may take so many days to fulfill this task. The constant movement of animals in their habitat is a big challenge as animals seldom stay put for minutes without changing position except when they are resting or sleeping. Sometimes you get lucky to have a quick coincidence with the desired moment of your subject and you get a beautiful shot.
#8: Reduce the number of poses
Try capturing subjects without their awareness because they are freer to express their natural characters. Allow them go about their normal way of life without your interference. Much smartness is required for great shots because your presence must be highly concealed to capture your desired moments.
#9: Be flexible with the rules
Some general rules are associated with photography including the “rule of thirds” which involves understanding the exposure, proper composition and the use of the histogram to achieve high-quality images. These rules are very much applicable to wildlife photography. Bear these rules in mind to capture fleeting moments. Try to capture the eyes of the subject as this adds life to the image. Consider checking and using some amazing textures like old paper texture to add effect to your shots.
